Friday, March 23, 2012

Artist: Ursula, Album: Happy To Be Outraged, Song: Caged Bird

Ursula was a rock band from Toronto, Ontario.  They formed during the early nineties and released their one and only album, Happy To Be Outraged, in 1995.  In hindsight, you might refer to them now as an indie super group.  They included Andrew Cash, Jason Collett, Kevin Fox and Randy Curnew.  At the time, Andrew Cash (see blog 2/12/11) was released from his Island Records contract following his 1993 album, Hi.  He started to play with some local musicians not intending to produce a record but in the end, he was so impressed by the results, the album was released.  The band would play some regional gigs before the members would venture on to new musical projects.  Cash and Collett would join forces again in the band, Bird, five years later, for a string of releases.  Cash would also collaborate with his brother Peter from the Skydiggers (see blog 9/13/11) in a new band called, The Cash Brothers.  Today, Andrew Cash's focus is mainly on politics.  He is a recently elected MP for the NDP party in Toronto. Collett has gone on to release a few albums as a solo artist with the Arts & Crafts label.  Kevin Fox (see blog 8/3/11) is a musician who has played with everyone from Danny Michel (see blog 9/26/10) to Kathleen Edwards and is perhaps one of the most in demand cello players within the country.   Randy Curnew has played with Ian Blurton's (see blogs 11/22/10, 6/30/11) band, C'mon.  Ursula's one and only release has been preserved thanks to Andrew Cash and you can purchase it from his website (http://andrewcash.net/).  Caged Bird, is an edgy tune with a great groove and you can hear it on Andrew's site.  The chorus reminds me of The Replacements.  Thanks for reading and enjoy!